1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for the processing of glass sheets, of the type in which a vertically suspended glass sheet is introduced into a furnace and after having attained a temperature suitable for further treatment is raised vertically from the furnace through a series of treatment stations positioned one above the other over the furnace.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A known apparatus of this type includes a furnace which can accomodate a series of glass sheets arranged end to end, the cold glass sheets being introduced vertically at one end of the furnace and the hot glass sheets being removed vertically from the other end of the furnace. A bending station is positioned immediately above this latter end of the furnace and a hot glass sheet is raised vertically from the furnace into the bending station. In the bending station the glass sheet is bent by closure together of horizontally acting bending dies. A quenching station is positioned immediately above the bending station and after opening of the bending dies the bent glass sheet is then raised from the bending station into the quenching station. The glass sheet is toughened in the quenching station for example by directing streams of cooling gas, particularly air, at both surfaces of the glass sheet. The toughened glass sheet is then removed from the quenching station.
In this known form of apparatus the glass sheets are suspended from transport members such as carriages for conveyance through the furnace and through the bending and quenching stations. A single lifting device is provided for lifting the suspended glass from the furnace into the bending station and then into the quenching station. The lifting device is arranged to pick up the carriages for the glass sheets from above so that lowering of the lifting device to pick up the next glass sheet from the furnace is delayed until the preceding glass sheet has been removed from the quenching station. This delay in lowering of the lifting device to pick up the next glass sheet results in an undesirable lengthening of the processing cycle for each glass sheet.
The present invention provides an improvement in such apparatus and an improved method for processing glass sheets.